Comparative Study of Indian Science

Author(s): Harisatya Bhattacharya
Publisher: C S Mallinath

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of a word but is not established or created by any one."
The Jaina theory of Sound is also a mean between thë Minansaka and the Buddhist theories but it has some originality of its own. According to the Jainas; Sound is neither a réal Substance (Mimansa), nor an unsubstantial internal phenomenon (Buddhists), nor an attribute of Ether (Nyaya and Vaiseshika) but is atómic or Páudgalika' in nature. The atoms that account for létter-sounds are called Bhasha-vargana atoms by the Jaina thinkers. The Jainas point out that Sound is similar to Odour in its nature and is transmitted in a way like that of Odour. The Jaina philosopher's agree with the Sankhya, the Vaiseshika, the Nyaya' and' the Yoga philosophers in maintaining that there is the Vachya-Vachaka-relationship between wörds and their objects. The Vaiseshika thinkers, however, explain this relationship by referring to God' who is supposed to fix the meanings of particular words. The Jainas reject the Hypothesis of God and maintain that words themselves have a Svabhabika of natural force to signify their objects.
The celebrated theory of the Saptabhanga or of the Seven-fold Possibility may be considered in this connection. It: arises in this way. The question is, What is the nature of the significance of a word ? The